No. 2-3A DeLaSalle at No. 7 Cretin-Derham Hall
5 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 8
MN Basketball Hub Spotlight Game

Don’t feel bad for the Islanders. They still enter February as the second-ranked team in Class 3A and, if you ask most experts, the favorite to win a third straight state title.

Junior point guard Jarvis Johnson (13.1 ppg) has some of the springiest legs in the state — he can dunk easily at 5-foot-11 — and has Division I offers from Minnesota, Marquette, UCLA and several other top programs. Senior Geno Crandall (10.5 ppg) has signed with North Dakota and defensive stalwart James Lawson (6.1 ppg) with the University of Sioux Falls. Junior Sacar Anim (16.1 ppg) is another top defensive player who has drawn plenty of college interest. He’s another athletic and intense cog in the Islanders’ machine.

But the engine on which DeLaSalle runs is clearly Travis (16.4 ppg). His college announcement to Stanford was covered intensely by local media, who speculated on whether the University of Minnesota could convince Travis, a five-star national recruit, to stay home. He’s a terrific combination of strength, size and explosiveness at 6-foot-7. But according to coach Dave Thorson, he’s also an intelligent player who just soaks up the game.

Since Travis returned to the lineup from a foot injury on Jan. 11, the Islanders have run off seven straight victories by an average of 42.3 points per game.

Into that gauntlet jumps Cretin-Derham Hall, which should prove a terrific foil. The Raiders are just as explosive as the Islanders, regularly scoring 80-plus points per game and posting more than 100 on three different occasions (112 against Minnetonka on Dec. 14, 106 against Mounds View on Dec. 20 and 102 at Hastings on Jan. 7).

Junior small forward Sam Neumann (22.2 ppg) is one of the best 3-point shooters in the state and has good length at 6-foot-6. He’s joined in the shooting barrage by junior point guards Joe Rosga (18.9 ppg) and Donnell Gresham (11.6 ppg), a transfer from Tartan who had to sit out last year. Rosga has great touch on his shot and is a true team leader. Gresham is a creator and distributor who can handle the ball well. Add in lanky and athletic sophomores Jalan Ousley-Brown (7.3 ppg) and Brian Lankford-Johnson (6.8 ppg) and the Raiders have a talented roster of scorers.